Francis



. (ModeL) F. O. BUTLER. r Gig-Pad Housing.

No. 227,610. I Patented May 18,1880.

NPETERS, FHOTO-LITNDGRAPMER, WASHINGTON, 0. O.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS C. BUTLER, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF OF HIS RIGHT TO EUGENE WARD, OF SAME PLACE.

GIG-PAD HOUSING.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 227,610, dated May 18, 1880.

v Application filed March 9, 1880. -(Model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS O. BUTLER, of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain Improvements in Gig-Pad Housings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the article known and sold in the trade under the name of gigpad or gig-pad housing, and the invention consists in providing the same with a metal stiffening-plate, and in giving to said plate a concave form on its upper side, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of my improved pad or housing, showing the concave upper face of the same; Fig. 2, aperspective view of the stiffening-plate Fig. 3, a cross-section on the line 00 w of Fig. 1.

The article which I am about to describe is employed in connection with harness-saddles which have become worn or are not sufficiently or properly padded, and is sold in the market as a separate and independent article.

2 5 The object of the invention is to give to a gig pad or housing such a form that the saddle may be seated upon it without liability of working 05 or out of position; and, further, to insure the retention of such form and per- 0 mit the pad or housing to be stuffed as hard as may be desired. These objects cannot be attained by the usual construction, for the reason that the flexible back commonly employed will be rounded out by the filling in the same 3 5 manner, and to as great or nearly as great an extent as the inner or under face.

In forming my improved pad or housing I employ the usual flexible backing A, but place I under the same a stiffening-plate, B, their faces 0 being, by preference, cemented together, in order to prevent the backing from wrinkling or taking a shape different from the stiffeningplate. Beneath the stiffening-plate B is placed the usual filling or stuffing O, and outside of 5 this the facing or covering D, if a stuffed pad or housing is to be made; or a simple facing of kersey or like material is stretched over the face of the plate B and stitched around the edges to the backing A when a pad or housing without stuffing is to be produced.

The plate B is made of concave form on its upper side, and, being made usually of sheet metal, is of convex form on the lower face, thus forming a seat for the harness-saddle and giving the proper rounding form to the lower face independently of the stuffing or filling. This concave form is a matter of importance, as by it a seat for the saddle is secured in the top of the housing to receive and hold the saddle, which is thus prevented from slipping or sliding upon the pad or housing, whether the usual confining-straps be employed or omitted, and it gives a rounding face to a pad or housing, whether stuffed or not.

In order that there may be no injury to the filling or facing of the pad or housing from rusting of the stifiening-plate, the latter may be made of non-corrosive metal, or a sheet of pasteboard may be placed next to the plate, as shown at a in Fig. 3.

The pad or housing will be made, as usual, with a flexible middle portion, to permit the two sides to adjust themselves to the back of the animal, and provided with a central strap,

E, the ends of which will be attached, respectively, to the back-band and its hook, and each side orhalf of the pad or housing will, of course, be furnished with a stiffenin g-plate 5 or a single plate may extend from the middle into both sides, being made flexible at the middle.

Hitherto great difficulty has been experienced in making the stuffing or filling as hard and compact as is desirable, for the reason that in doing so the upper side or back unavoidably became so much rounded as to render the seating and retention of the saddle upon it practically impossible. By the use of my plate, however, this difficulty is removed and the packing or stuffing to any desired de gree of hardness permitted. 0

While sheet metal is mentioned as the most convenient and desirable material of which to make the stiffening-plate, it is obvious that other suitable materials may be employed; and it is likewise apparentthat instead ofform- 5 ing the plate with concave and convex faces, plane faces and upturned edges may be employed Hard rubber, celluloid, or wood may be used in place of the metal or, in the event of using a metal naturally corrosive, it may be coated or plated with non-corrosive substance As an improved article of manufacture, the or metal. herein-described pad-housing, consisting of I am aware that metallic plates have been the backing A, stiffening-plates B, and pads employed in collar-pads, and that metal frames 0 D, the plate and backing A being of a conare used in harness-saddles as a foundation cave cross-section on the upper face to receive 15 upon which to construct the saddle and to and retain a harness-saddle.

which to attach the trimmings, and I make FRANCIS O. BUTLER. no broad claim thereto; but, Witnesses:

Having described my invention, what I EDGAR B. WARD, 10 claim is JOHN B. LUNGER. 

